MURDER ON CROCKETT STREET

 I left Lonnie's School of Hair Design one afternoon during the Summer of '58, and saw a man run out of a building across the street.  Another man followed and fired a gun.  Man #1 clutched his chest and fell in the middle of the street - just as in the movies.  The street was soon filled with people including police.  I hurried to the nearby safety of our family music store.  My parents were very skeptical of  my story, but the next day, read in the Beaumont Enterprise that a man named "Banjo Red" had been murdered on Crockett Street. 

TWO-PIECE SWIM SUIT

I wanted a two-piece swim suit long before the song, "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" was popular. Mother was almost convinced that it was okay, until Daddy over-heard our most recent conversation.  He sailed into my bedroom and said, "No daughter of mine will be allowed to parade around in public wearing nothing more than fancy underwear."   End of story except for the crying.

THROUGH THE KEYHOLE

Marital problems were kept private behind closed doors.  Since divorce was rare and counseling non-existent, many couples must have lived unhappily ever after.

SADIE HAWKINS DAY DANCE

At last, a chance to be assured of a date even though first choice wasn't always available.  Sadie Hawkins Day was originated in "L'il Abner", a comic strip by Al Capp.   Girls did the askin' as well as the payin'.   

QUICK SAND

Quick sand was a natural and very worrisome phenomena in the South.  I was told not to struggle if I accidentally landed in quick sand, but to remain calm and unmoving until rescued.  This advice was difficult to comprehend.  

THE DRAFT

If boys didn't have a relative or family friend on the local draft board, the best way to keep a 4F classification was to excel in college and avoid as many distractions as possible.  Girls were not included in the draft.

CAT LIBRARY

A library for cats?  I must have been dreaming - cats weren't that well liked during the Fifties - dogs were definitely preferred as pets.